In a message dated 97-01-28 13:44:32 EST, you write:
<< Michael,
Seems to me this technology may follow the color copier tracks - rather than
more demand for low end desktop models, more service bureaus will open
offering full featured machines. Price points will come down as new markets
emerge to exploit this technology, and more service bureaus emerge to handle
the demand creating more competition in the market.
Re: FULL PHOTOGRAPHIC COLOR, while there isn't alot of current demand for
applications in this area to warrant alot of new development here, I believe
that it will be applications of this nature that will bring this technology
to the consumer marketplace.
Darcy
>>
It is VERY expensive to develop hardware/software, especially of the
complexity required to do photographic color level work. We know what
Michael Rees would like to do with such a system, since he's a sculptor and
has made suggestions in other postings. However, the development of such
systems will await applications that will convince investors by means of real
data that the arithmetic rule of investment will hold, that is:
(Money Out) = 10 x (Money In); t = 5 years or less.
Obvious additional applications are medical, industrial design and
architectural models, but after this it gets very fuzzy to me. It's hard to
add those up into a market that satisfies the equation. The barriers are not
technical, they are economic. And it's chicken or egg economics: no money
for development until there are concrete applications - but no applications
until systems exist.
If we'd like to see this product developed, it would be useful for us to
suggest what additional applications there might be that could justify the
expense of development. One problem that we face in doing this is that this
group, while large and varied, may not be large and varied enough for crystal
ball purposes.
Anyone know any big markets for Color RP not mentioned above, or better yet
how to find them or who we should proselytize?
Ed Grenda
AutoFab Systems
19 Pondview Road
Arlington, MA 02174 USA
617-646-6280 (voice or fax)
EdGrenda@aol.com (email)
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